Babies Confirm: Fear of Snakes and Spiders Is Hardwired

October 25, 2017—A new study provides compelling evidence that people are born with the fear of snakes and spiders. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute and Uppsala University observed the response to pictures of snakes and spiders in six-month-old children, the youngest group ever for this kind of test. In the study, the babies looked at images of the potentially fearsome creatures, and neutral images of flowers and fish for comparison. The researchers measured changes in the diameter of the subjects' pupils. Eyes dilate as part of an automatic response to perceived danger. Overall, dilation increased more for a "dangerous" animal than a neutral image. The authors believe, since the infants wouldn't have had enough experience with the animals to develop a learned response, they were likely born predisposed for the reaction. READ: Are We Born Fearing Spiders and Snakes?

Babies Confirm: Fear of Snakes and Spiders Is Hardwired

October 25, 2017—A new study provides compelling evidence that people are born with the fear of snakes and spiders. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute and Uppsala University observed the response to pictures of snakes and spiders in six-month-old children, the youngest group ever for this kind of test. In the study, the babies looked at images of the potentially fearsome creatures, and neutral images of flowers and fish for comparison. The researchers measured changes in the diameter of the subjects' pupils. Eyes dilate as part of an automatic response to perceived danger. Overall, dilation increased more for a "dangerous" animal than a neutral image. The authors believe, since the infants wouldn't have had enough experience with the animals to develop a learned response, they were likely born predisposed for the reaction. READ: Are We Born Fearing Spiders and Snakes?